Upper School Artists in the Spotlight at Gallery Talks
Seven Upper School students spent a rainy Thursday evening in the Lower Gallery discussing the art pieces they have been working on in their fall and winter classes. The audience, made up of fellow students, faculty, and even a few young alumni/ae, listened intently as each student spoke passionately about his or her work.
At the end of the presentations a candid discussion began between the student speakers and the other student artists in the audience. They discussed the sense of satisfaction and pride one feels in creating art, whether it is photography, ceramics, architecture, or woodworking. Even if a piece does not end up looking exactly like the original plan or idea, it is still yours. And although the various forms of art are so different, and depend on a person’s individual personality, the experience of creating art is very similar, no matter what the medium.
Read on for more information about these student artists and their work, as well as a link to the photo gallery:
Erica Pandey ’13, started the evening speaking about her photography class. She has worked on adding sepia and other tones to negatives to give them depth. She believes that hand-coloring prints adds an element of drama to the image. Photography has taught her “to see things that might not have been seen” by others.
Victoria Lee ’13, who is in her second year of ceramics, spoke of exploring her curiosity through her art; noting that not only is ceramics visually appealing, but working on the texture of a piece matters as well. Ceramics has “so many different dimensions,” an aspect Lee says makes it unique from other forms of art. She credits her strong foundation in art to her teachers, and is excited for what they will learn next in class.
Rachel Strodel ’14, a photography student, believes she gives her subjects a voice when she captures them on film. “You have to meet your subjects half-way,” Strodel remarked, “you can take many pictures, but you have to rely on your subject to deliver as well.” She also enjoys mixing mediums by using past images for prints and etchings.
Jack Delano ’13 has been studying architecture and design. He compares the design aspect to a puzzle that needs solving. “Once we are given an assignment, I have to let it sit and think about it overnight before tackling the solution,” states Delano. The class is currently learning how to move from two-dimension design into three-dimension.
Mike McCaffrey ’14, a student in woodworking, spoke of the “happy accidents” that can occur when something doesn’t work out as originally planned. While creating a wooden box in class, McCaffrey nicked the wood unintentionally creating an unwanted groove. However, upon further inspection, he realized those grooves actually caught the light in an interesting way and added to the overall look of his piece.
Jess Karol ’12, who studies photography, enjoys “recreating” older images. Using new effects, such as tinting and shadowing, one can make an image taken a year ago look like a completely new print.
Skylar Smith ’14 has been studying ceramics. She enjoys creating tangible art, and based one of her pieces on an interesting piece of wood she found.
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